In the last year I heard a lot about "The Tudors". With the dreamy Jonathan Rhys-Meyers headlining the Showtime series as Henry VIII it was hard not to stare at the TV promos about the show. But it was not until this weekend that I finally got around to checking out the eye candy. Long weekends are always very good for such pursuits especially when the Season 1 box set is only 10 episodes long."The Tudors" is by no means perfect. It is choppy. It takes wide creative license on history. It isn't even well-written at times. And it clearly uses its occassional steaminess to compensate for these sins. Luckily, this trade-off works. If one is willing to surrender to the soapiness of "The Tudors" then the weaknesses seem to disappear behind leather boots and heaving bosoms. Not to mention the fact that the series is populated with seriously beautiful people. (At this moment it behooves me to mention my new crushworthiness: Henry Cavill!)
But I think what really makes the show successful is the performance level. The characters are wonderfully created. Rhys-Meyer's Henry is egotistical but conflicted. Catherine of Aragon is portrayed with an enviable steeliness that you can't help but find believable. The series' Anne Boleyn is a wonderful mix of political pawn and passionate paramour. And Sam Neill is incredible as Cardinal Wolsey offering a peformance that anchors the season with its depth.
Admittedly I spent my viewing time surfing wikipedia to check out the inconsistencies but that might make it more fun for some. And for the rest of you, just kick back and enjoy because "The Tudors" is a tale worth retelling.
4 comments:
RayeBee, it is a kick-ass show. Its what Elizabeth the Golden Age could have been!
Hey Happy B-Day by the way...33 is the best year in your life. Much better than 22.
Tanjobi Omedito Gozaimasu!
Is it just me, or is Jonathan R-S just a wee bit repulsive? I don't get the eye candy sex soap thing with him as star. I like him as an actor (perfect in Matchpoint) and he's great at the whole Henry as fiesty young man bit, but I just got bored with the whole show because it was so sex-driven and all the characters were so un-sexy to me.
Saw "The Other Boleyn Girl" last night and liked that though. Scarlett Johannsen needs to play trembling innocents more often.
I don't mind JRM but my heart is with Henry Cavill so I don't mind that if JRM isn't so sexy. I don't really like actress playing Anne Bolyen for sex appeal either but I prefer her characterization in The Tudors to the one in the Boleyn Girl.
Personally I thought that Boleyn Girl wasn't soapy enough! I wanted more from it. It didn't match the visual awesomeness of Elizabeth either so I found it to be a bit of a yawn in the end. Which is why I went out and rented the Tudors in the first place - to compare.
Of course I am the same person who wrote about Gossip Girl last time so my taste can't be completely trusted ;-)
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